Even The Most Mundane Things.

Today was just one of those errand days, you know the kind, the ones where you've got to do something seemingly boring.  Today's mission was a trip to the pharmacy.  It's about a 3 mile walk, round trip, so right about normal for what the kids are used to.  Pinkie was at an overnight, so we just had Bear, Creeper, and Link.  They love having the opportunity to go for walks, even if it's something that promises to be boring.  I suppose I should have learned by now, even walks are never boring with these kids.  They end up being the source of crazy made up games and wild stories.  This trip was certainly no exception to that rule.  They had quite the time chatting away.  Bear in particular had all kinds of stories to tell.

The weather was beautiful out.  While we started with jackets on, it quickly got warm enough that we didn't need to wear them anymore.  Considering it's November, we're all glad we've still got the warm weather.  It's only a matter of time before it's too cold and snowy to enjoy being outside for a walk.  We're going to try and enjoy every moment of it we can.  I can foresee a number of walks like this in our future, at least until the weather starts to turn.

Getting out always means Bear has to be in top style.  Out of all the kids, Bear's the only one that cares at all about looks.  Today's look was complete with a hat I made, something that's become a constant accessory every time we leave the house.  The Frozen sunglasses matched with the shoes.  It was quite the look.

This has been something we've had to get used to with Bear.  All of the other kids have had their own quirky senses of style, generally sending the message of "don't care what I wear."  Bear, on the other hand, is a total fashionista.  This has been quite the experience, and sometimes means it takes a bit to get moving out the door.

The tiger you see here has been with us for some time now.  That was gotten for Creeper when he was still little.  Today he decided to come along for the ride.  It was fun to hear the kids all enjoy our little tag-along.  The big tragedy of the day was the tiger, named Ra-Ra, falling from Bear's lap in the stroller and getting run over.  Thankfully it was only the tail, and Bear was able to "poof" it back to healthy again.  This meant for a story about the tiger's adventures, which was particularly funny.

No trip out is complete without hungry kids commenting that they wanted lunch.  We joked about how the only way they'd get to have lunch out is if they worked in the kitchen to earn the money to pay for it.  We were going to barter them in exchange for pizza.  They all seemed to find this a funny concept and were arguing over who got sold to the pizza parlor so the rest of us could eat.  I was really surprised they didn't volunteer the dog to work as a dish washer!  She'd do such a good job.  Instead we ended up doing the traditional thing and actually paying for the pizza, of course.

Still, this gave the kids an opportunity to think about what it actually takes to get food.  You don't just walk in and order a pizza.  The money has to come from somewhere, so how do you earn your money.  What is labor really worth?  We didn't get into a serious conversation about it or anything, but they did talk about how much pizza costs and whether or not we'd have enough money.  A part of me really wants to shield them from the idea of their parents needing money and how much things cost.  I don't want them to worry.  At the same time, they may value what they have more if they actually have to think about how expensive everything really is.

We all really enjoyed our time at the pizza parlor.  We went to a little local joint, because those are always the best.  The kids each got to pick out a soda.  While it's cheaper to just get a 2 liter, it's a hassle to pick something everyone likes.  Since this was a special treat, why not make it more special.  It's not like we get soda every day.  Even I splurged and had some, breaking my almost two week streak of having no soda, but we were all getting spoiled, so I figured why not?  I can always go right back to having no soda again.  If we keep this up we might end up a soda free house, and then it will really be a special treat.

The kids got their own pepperoni pizza, with more than enough left over for dinner.  They probably would have eaten more, but we got a huge batch of french fries to go with it, which were happily devoured.  There's something special about pizza parlor french fries.  They always tend to be the best.  The kids commented on how incredibly good my salad looked, but none of them wanted to try any.  I know if Pinkie were there she would have devoured my tomatoes and olives.  Overall, it was a fantastic little adventure for our family.

Off to a Horrible Start

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  At least these good intentions didn't end up hurting anyone but myself, not that they're really hurting me.  It's frustrating that less than a full day in I ended up failing, but tomorrow is a new day and I can make an effort again starting then.  That's what it's all about, keep on trying until you succeed.

The caffeine thing, that didn't even last more than twelve hours.  The orange soda was sitting there, calling my name.  However, it's not a lot of caffeine, and once it's gone, I'm not buying anymore.  I did do well with drinking green tea, which is a start.  At least it's something healthier than soda.  Now if only I could stick to that!

Exercise went well, but today I just didn't have the time!  Well, I did, but I had other things to do, so I decided to be a slacker instead.  There was just so much running around to get done!  I've also been achy.  I know, excuses, excuses.  However, it's not me making excuses this time!  I've been doing so much dance over the past two weeks that I think it's starting to wear on me.  The muscles in my back and sides are sore from constantly using them in ways my slacker body isn't used to.  It's wondering what all this proper posture stuff is!  I know it's good for me, but until my body adjusts, it's going to be rough.  Then there's having to put the baby in the carrier during class that isn't helping.  The extra weight on my body is hard to adjust to when it's so suddenly on me.  I think a day off isn't too much of a big deal, as long as I make no more excuses and get back to it.  Because of this, I've come to realize that exercising every day is kind of essential for me.  If I don't exercise every day then I'll just slack off on the day I'm supposed to.  I really do need to get off my butt and do it already!

In other news, we've started talking about getting another car today.  This topic leaves me a bit torn.  On one hand, it leaves me free to do what I want to do since I won't be house-bound when my significant other is at work.  On the other hand, I'm left worrying about the impact this is going to leave on the environment.  Doesn't this just give us a larger carbon footprint?  Won't this just increase the total emissions put out by my family?  Is that something I really want to do?  I suppose I don't have much choice.  The only option is to only drive when necessary.  I already have to leave the house anyway to do laundry, buy groceries, and run other essential errands.  I suppose it doesn't make that big of a difference if I'm using a secondary car or not.  I'll just have to keep track of how far I'm going.  With the economy being so bad and gas prices being what they are, I don't think that will be much of a challenge.

Tomorrow is also my birthday.  I get to celebrate it with doing something I don't really want to do, treat the household for lice.  It seems there's a breed of lice going around that is resistant to the store-bought chemicals as well as almost all holistic treatments I've found on the web.  Apparently it's gotten so bad that they've had to change the prescription they used to use to kill the nasty bugs for something they weren't resisting.  This prescription medication is the hardest thing to find!  It seems everyone has this nasty variant of the bugs because most of the pharmacies were out.  I hate the idea of putting chemicals on my head or my daugher's, but the only other option at this point is to shave our heads.  As much as I don't want to do that, I want these things gone.  If the prescription doesn't work, it may just come down to that.  It's sad when we live in a world where bugs have become so chemical resistant that it's not just the holistic remedies that don't work.  My poor kids have been made miserable with all kinds of things put in their hair that were supposed to kill the bugs or help remove the eggs.  We were joking that these things have become super lice!  Apparently we weren't far off at all!

Tomorrow, after every male in the house has their head shaved but the baby, and my daughter and I get our hair treated, and the laundry is done, I'm going to try and think of something sustainable living related to do.  Maybe I'll pull out one of my projects and knit.  I may look up a local recycling center for reference.  Maybe I'll just focus on my own health and go for a nice, long walk.  It will be nice to stretch my legs and work out the stress of everything going on.  Maybe it will help clear my mind.

Tomorrow is another day.  A birthday is always a good day to start new and more positive habits.  It's certainly one way I can do something to treat myself.

Beginning a Healthier Lifestyle

Taking a look at my life over the past few years, I've come to realize that it's simply not healthy.  I don't mean that it's unhealthy.  I'm not a pack and a half a day smoker that lives off of fast food, stress, and enough caffeine to cause your heart to explode.  I'm more the kind of person that drinks too much soda, isn't active enough, and spends way too much time in front of the computer.  I don't take enough care to eat healthy meals and do what's best for my body.  It's time to change those patterns.

As they say, Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will a healthier lifestyle be easy to create in such a short time.  It's going to take time for new, healthier habits to form.  It's going to take time for my own system to adjust.  Nothing happens all at once and it's far too easy to lose it all if you try to accomplish it all at once. It takes little steps at a time.  They say it takes twenty days to break a bad habit, which means it takes twenty days to make a good one.  Because of that, I'm going to try and institute each new change in a three week cycle, and hopefully I won't give up.

For the next three weeks I intend to institute a couple of new changes for a healthier lifestyle.  These changes all kind of relate and should give me more energy, something I need with how tired I've been.  More energy will certainly help on this path to a healthier lifestyle.

The first change isn't that much of a stretch from my current lifestyle, I want to do something physically active every day for at least an hour.  As things currently stand, I dance three days a week for at least an hour.  That means I only have four days to fill with something active and healthy to do.  I'm not talking anything challenging, like running for an hour or anything like that.  A walk around the neighborhood would be good enough, but I need to be doing something active.

Next, I want to remove caffeine from my diet.  Preferably this will be done by removing all sodas as well, but I'll focus on the caffeine.  Orange soda is unfortunately well caffeinated, and that is my biggest problem.  It's also all to easy to reach for an energy drink when I'm feeling kind of sluggish rather than reaching for something healthier, or getting more sleep.  I know full well that I won't be able to kick it all together, but once the rest of my soda is gone, I won't be buying anymore.  Instead I'm trying to find healthier drinks, like green tea, to replace my soda habit.  Juice and water are also great alternatives.

The final change I want to make could take more than three weeks to start.  Once the house is unpacked I want to make a constant effort to keep the house clean.  It's all too easy to let it get cluttered and fall behind.  Who cares?  You're just going to have to clean up later anyways, so what does it matter.  Even though it may seem so much easier to let the mess build, I want to live in a healthy environment, and that requires a clean home, something I've never truly had in all my life.  That one is going to be a hard habit to get into, but I have confidence in myself.

There are a few expected results that will show in all aspects of my life.  On a physical level, I believe I will be a healthier person.  I should have more energy, and therefore be able to get more done each day.  On a mental and emotional level, I should feel much better about myself.  Getting enough exercise and and eating healthy often has emotional benefits, making for a happier person.  Increased energy also tends result in a better mood as well.  My sleep schedule will improve given that getting enough exercise can help with sleeping, and the relation between caffeine and sleep is obvious.  My kids will benefit because a happier, healthier mom with more energy has obvious benefits.  It will be easier for them to maintain a regular sleep schedule as well because I will be able to do more with them and won't have such a hard time dragging myself out of bed in the morning.

This is just day one of the whole experiment, but hopefully by week three I will be well in the habit and ready for something new.  In the future I hope to add practices that help with personal awareness, energy, and fitness, like yoga.  With the local farmer's market due to open again soon, I hope to shop locally instead of making purchases at big box stores.  Perhaps there will be research into companies that support green living so I can buy from them.  There are many ideas on the horizon as to what the next step will be, but I'm going to do my best to focus on them one step at a time.